Workin' out

I've been working out regularly for a few months now.  I joined the local Crossfit.  I'm both loving it and feeling frustrated most days. 
I haven't been seeing much change in the scale.  I lost about 10 pounds right off, but that has stalled.  BUT... I have been getting compliments.  People say my face looks thinner.  One man told me he could really see a difference in my arms (and I don't see this person very often, so that was pretty telling to me).  And a woman at my office told me my *butt* looks good!  Wow! 
Those are all little victories that make me smile.  But what really makes me feel good are the non-scale victories that make me stop in my tracks and say "how long have I been able to do THAT?".  For instance, I skipped down the steps at the school the other day.  Straight down, without holding the rail.  Usually it's early when I'm there and I'm not all warmed up for the day and I haven't had my coffee yet so I move like an elderly lady.  I turn my body sideways to go down the steps and hold onto the railing with a fear of slipping (they are a little steep).  Now I just go straight down the middle and bounce all the way! 
Yesterday I walked up a flight of stairs without losing my breath.  I just walked right up!  I was tempted to go to the elevator, but chided myself for that. "It's only one flight of stairs, not 6!" And it was easy!
And today I am wearing a pair of pants I avoided all summer because they didn't fit. 

So the scale isn't moving.  I know that muscle weighs more than fat. I'm replacing one for the other.  It's frustrating to not be losing weight.  It would be nice to see a change in the scale, but I'm seeing other changes that, surprisingly, mean more to me.  They are harder to measure.  But they are real. 

Well!! Where do I start?!! I don't even know where to begin! I won't get it all out in this post because there is just way too much and I don't have a lot of time. I know I have never had a lot of time in the past, but I have even less time now and that is saying something!! I have been promising Krista that I would post for a while now and yesterday she sent me a message that made me realise that I just need to make time because it helps people. Even if it only helps one person then it is worth it and makes me soooo happy! So for now I will give you a brief rundown of my last 8 months as looking back I realised I have not blogged since January! I also have a lot of Krista's posts to catch up on and I will be doing that over the next few days - I feel very out of touch with how she is going and that makes me sad. Thank goodness for Facebook or I wouldn't know anything that was going on over the other side of the world!! So.......here goes! I hope you are ready, because it is a wild ride lol!! January 2013 I made the decision to resign as a foster carer. My daughter was going to be turning 18 in July and leaving to go overseas at the end of the year for at least 12 months and I felt that it was time for us to spend some time together on our own without the pressures of having other children to care for. I also felt that I have come to a point in my life where I have earnt the right and the need to be selfish for a while. This is MY time. I have wasted a lot of years of my life hiding from the world and it is time for me to try and get some of them back. I realised that I wasn't going to be able to do that whilst trying to care for other children. I will never regret being a foster carer. It was a very challenging but rewarding time of my life and I am so glad that I did it, but it is time for me to focus on my daughter and myself. February 2013 My daughter and I moved from Brisbane to the Gold Coast. For the previous 5 years we had lived in Brisbane and commuted to the Gold Coast every day for work, school, etc. It took us an hour to drive each way every day. We now live 5 - 20 mins away from everything and has made our life a whole lot easier and given me more time. Unfortunately, my life has changed so much it is still not enough lol!! March 2013 This was a HUGE month for me!! On 23/3/13 I finally cracked it!! I had been trying for a very long time and unfortunately, since discovering FUN, my weight loss has slowed down a lot lol!! The last little bit seems to be the hardest, but after trying and trying, I finally made it to my next goal......100kg lost! To be exact, I weighed in at 69.7kg that day and had lost 100.5kg. And just in time for one of the most awesome days of my life to date. On the 27/3/13 I was flown to Sydney by The Biggest Loser Club Australia for a glamour makeover & photo shoot! There were 4 other lovely ladies who have lost various amounts of weight and all have wonderful stories and experiences of their journeys. It was so wonderful to meet them and share with them and it reminds me all the time that there are so many of us out there who have the same struggle every day. I felt so very special that day! They made me feel so very beautiful and I remember struggling not to cry when the lady was doing my makeup for the photo shoot, because it didn't look like me in the mirror. It looked like a totally different person & she was beautiful! I will never forget that day and so many good things have come out of it since. I feel so very blessed and lucky to have been able to be a part of it! April 2013 April was also a very exciting month for me! My daughter and I went to Sydney for the Royal Sydney Easter Show and when we came home I went to Japan with my mum to visit my Japanese sister that we hadn't seen for about 17 years. Then when I came home, The Biggest Loser Club had arranged for an Australian current affairs show called Today Tonight to do a story on me, so they came to my house and filmed it and what an experience it was! So very exciting! If you google "Shari Ware" (yes....I can be googled! That's another exciting thing lol!!) you will find a whole host of things about me, including what was shown on tv. Sooooo amazing!! May 2013 The next amazing and exciting thing happened in May. That's Life Magazine contacted me through The Biggest Loser Club to do a story on me and they printed it in one of their May editions. So TV & a magazine! I never ever imagined anything so exciting could happen to me!! June 2013 I turned 38 and felt fitter and healthier than I did at 18!! Life is wonderful and is only going to get better!! July 2013 My beautiful baby girl turned 18 on Wednesday the 10th of July and I took her out clubbing for the first time on the Thursday night. We had a ball and she was told she had a "Hot Mama" who couldn't be old enough to have an 18 year old daughter! Hilarious but really really wonderful to hear, especially when I think about where I have come from! On the Saturday night we had her 18th birthday party which ended with a ride in a Pink Stretch Hummer into the nightclubs to go clubbing again. It was an awesome night and my daughter said she had the best 18th. How could she fail with a mother like me?!! Haha! Later in July we travelled to Adelaide to visit family, then over to Melbourne to visit more family and I took my daughter to the snow for the first time. We went tobogganing (something even I had never done before) and had an absolute ball! These are all things I would never have even tried at 170/180kgs! August 2013 On August 17th, my mum and I travelled to Bangkok, Thailand and on the 18th I had my first surgery to remove my excess skin. Something I had been trying to organise for over a year and finally got there! I had been training very hard in the lead up to my surgery, as I was having 2 lots of surgery 1 week apart. On Sunday the 18th of August I had the excess skin on my arms removed and my breasts lifted and augmented. Then one week later on the 25th of August I had my body lift which involved the surgeon cutting me right around my entire body, lifting up, pulling down, cutting out excess skin and stitching me back together. I was also supposed to get my legs done, but the surgeon thought it was too risky after what my body had just been through, so instead I got veneers on my teeth and now have a smile that is much much nicer! September 2013 I came home from Thailand and have continued to heal. I had to travel to Darwin to see my sick brother and then to Cairns for some family things. I was able to start exercising again and just started walking to begin with and felt so much better just being able to do something. I never thought there would be a day when I missed exercise. I still don't like it, but I don't like what was happening to my body without it!! And it makes me feel so fit and strong and as if I can do anything....because I can!! October 2013 This is going to be such an exciting month as well! I am going on TV again! It will be live this time, so I am very very nervous. It is one of our morning shows and I still can't believe this is all happening to me! I will tell you more later, because I don't want to jinx it haha! Well that's all for now folks! That took me quite a while and now I am running late, but I am sooo glad that I have finally gotten back here. I promise I will do better with my blogging and I hope it helps someone even just a little bit. This is a never ending battle. I don't think that I am that different to a lot of people out there, and I can tell you that this is a battle that I wage every single day. This is something I will have to work on for the rest of my life and I just have to remember that. Take care everyone and remember, WE CAN DO ANYTHING!!!! Shari

Making changes

I've been going to Aikido for nearly a year now.  I started going because it was a way for me to break out of my comfort zone and make changes.  I'm still very challenged there.  I think, if you are doing it right, you will always be challenged there, no matter your level.  Being challenged in Aikido is now mostly in my comfort circle.  I enjoy the classes and the challenges.  I'm struggling with a few things though.  I can't do proper rolls and break falls.  The rolls I can't do right because I'm not strong enough to get "ass over teakettle" safely.  It's embarrassing.  The breakfalls I don't do properly because I'm chicken to fall down, which is exactly what the breakfalls are for - to learn to fall down safely.  I'm struggling.  And those things remain out of my comfort zone. 

I go to Aikido one to three times a week.  During the summer it's been at least once a week, twice when I could get there on Saturday morning.  Now that football season has started for my youngest I'm still sticking with that schedule.  But when football is over, I think I'll be adding back the Tuesday night class, which I can't make now because I ferry kids. 

And in the meantime, a new CrossFit gym has opened in my town.  And it's on my route home.  And they have class times I can make it to!  Since they are a new gym they offered their on-ramp class (required to join a CrossFit box) for free.  I jumped at the chance for free CrossFit.  I made it through the on-ramp and I'm officially working out in regular classes.  I'm terrible at it.  I'm slow and I'm clumsy.  But I'm doing it.  I try very hard to keep good form when lifting (and the trainers are awesome and help me a lot).  And I'll get better.  I'm constantly sore in a good way.  And the whole thing is out of my comfort zone!!   I'd really like to see this gym succeed.  The owners are great people and took a big risk opening that gym in our little town.  I'd like to see more and more people signing up. 

Gold Belt

I tested for my Gold Belt in Aikido last night.  I've known the test was coming for a few weeks.  I have the skills but not necessarily the confidence to test well.  I went to class with a really bad headache.  I was concerned that was going to hamper me.  I'd been trying to take care of the headache all day, more worried about it than I was the test. 

What I was most concerned about on the test was using my skills on guys.  I take the women's class most often.  I am the tallest and strongest person in that class.  The class is filled with girls who are between 11 and 15, with the exception of me and one lady who had her blue belt and is older than I am (I can pick her up and carry her under my arm though).  I know that height and strength play little roll in the skills in Aikido.  Xander, my youngest, is 70 pounds and four and a half feet tall and he can take me out when he does the techniques right.  But I was very intimidated to use my skills on the ex-marine who is 350 pounds, or the 20 something brown belt who was supposed to be there, or the 6'5" tall lanky carpenter who I thought would be there.  I worried for not a lot.  It does feel different to work with those big guys, but I know the technique and it worked!  Nathan got to be one of the testers.  He is pretty good at that.  He doesn't let anyone take him to the ground without doing the technique properly.  There were three of us testing, the other girls are 11 and 12.  I'm sure that Nathan was intimidating to them, and I know that he made them use their skills.  He did it to me. 

I never expected to get my gold belt.  Frankly, I'd be happy to be a white belt for a long time.  I am still doing Aikido to step out of my comfort zone and challenge myself.  I'm very happy to know that I've improved and learned and the challenge is ongoing.  The gold belt is a symbol of that to me.  I'm very pleased.  :)

Aikido progress

I once thought that aikido was just a way for me to step out of my comfort zone and change me. Then I discovered that my comfort zone has shifted so I had to adjust to stay outside of it.  I'm shifting again. I went to my first sparring class two weeks ago. It's totally beyond my abilities. But I ended up having fun and feeling proud to be there.  I didn't go last week, as I had a guest from overseas visiting. But I've marked it on my calendar to go every class in June (save the one where I'll be out of town).
Yesterday was a holiday and I didn't got to work. But I was invited to go to a private aikido lesson. I jumped at the chance.  We practiced some of the moves I'll be needing to know to advance.  I feel like a remedial student sometimes, it takes me so long to get some of the concepts.  But I worked some of the kinks out yesterday. I spent a lot of time on the mat and for the first time I noticed that it is getting easier to get back up.  I'm able to jump right up now and not grunt and groan and struggle.  What a change.

A Pint's A Pound The World Around

I gave blood recently.  I have been donating fairly regularly since my dad was in a car accident a few years ago and needed blood.  I had tried to give once before during a blood drive for a friend with leukemia.  My only child at the time was 2 and was running all over the convention center where the blood drive was held.  And I was chasing him.  When they called my name my pulse rate was high.  They wouldn't accept my reason for it and I was rejected from the pool of donors.  I'm ashamed to say I didn't go back to donate again until dad's accident.  It's sad that the reason that drove me there was tragedy both times.  But I go quite often now.  Not as often as I can, but almost. 
It seems that about a quarter of my donations involve some drama.  Not real drama drama, but enough drama to remember the experience.  One time they found a good vein and blood flowed well, until it didn't.  It just stopped and no matter how much they fiddled with the needle, I squeezed the ball, and the cuff was tightened, we couldn't get it to fill a whole bag.  The bag had to be thrown away because it wasn't filled (and it's got a pre-measured amount of some chemical that preserves it). But I had given enough that I couldn't come back and really donate again for another 6 weeks.  Grrrr.  A few times they have had trouble finding a vein and several people come to help move the needle around.   That is what happened this time.  I got a new girl.  Which is normally just fine with me.  I don't mind letting EMT's practice their IV's on me and I didn't really mind having a new girl draw my blood.  She came at me with the needle with a running start!  And missed.  She was so disappointed that she didn't get the vein right off.  She tried and tried to move the needle just right and all it did was hurt!  Finally she asked for help and that person was able to just slightly move it and all was working.  It may have been the fastest I'd filled a bag since I started giving blood.  Then she jerked the needle from my arm (not a nice draw it out and put the cotton on it, a pull-it-out-as-quickly-as-possible-and-hope-it-doesn't-hurt.  It did.), and she was surprised to see how much the hole could bleed.  We put the cotton on it and raised my arm while she did her QC and paperwork.  She came back with a bandaid and I think she almost passed out when the hole oozed still.  It was like she had never seen someone actively bleeding, which I guess, if she does her job right she shouldn't really see much of.  I sat longer with my arm in the air.  Finally we were able to get a bandaid on it and got up to get my juice.  I hope that she was just new and nervous and that she recovers quickly.  I have.  My arms isn't bruised at all after all of that, and I weighed one pound less on my next weigh in.  A pint is a pound after all. 

Go save a life!  Give blood! It's good for you and it's good for others. 

Caffine update

It's been 6 weeks since I quit caffeine cold turkey. 

The day after I made the decision and announcement I got to work, made a pot of coffee and was on my second cup before I remembered I didn't want to do that anymore!  I was a little disappointed in myself, but I didn't let it slow me down much.  I dumped the cup I had remaining and filled up my water bottle.  The next day I still made the coffee, but I didn't drink any. 
I've had an occasional iced tea.  Several of those were because I wasn't thinking again.  I avoided the caffeinated sodas and had iced tea instead.  What sense does that make?  I guess I have to be a little bit flexible.  I'm not a fan of clear soda usually, and I can never remember which root beer has no caffeine1.  So I can avoid the caffeine or I can avoid the sugary soda.  I guess I could just drink water, but at a restaurant that seems kind of unsatisfying. 

I ended up with headaches for only a few days.  But if I drank enough water during the day that side effect of quitting was minimal.  And the first few days I found that my head felt cloudy in the afternoon and it was harder to concentrate.  When I started to feel like that I just got up and walked around the office for a few minutes then sat down to work again.  It seemed to help. 

This last weekend I noticed that getting out of bed was easier.  I didn't feel so groggy that I wanted to roll over and sleep another hour.  I just got up and got busy with my day.  I'm happy to find that has carried over into the weekdays as well.  I have been awake and clear headed well before my alarm goes off.  I'm sure that is part of not being dependent on caffeine and I hope that it continues.  It is certainly not an effect I anticipated.  I don't know what I was expecting, but getting up in the morning more easily wasn't on the list.




1.(root beer, my family has found is tricky. Some are caffeine free, but more of them do have caffeine. Even a creme soda we assumed was caffeine free wasn't.)

Bloomsday 2013

I did Bloomsday again this year. It was great! Well, in the end it was great. Parts of it were fantastic and other parts were less than stellar. I over did it on Aikido and yard work on Saturday. By Saturday evening my back as really aching. But I was hoping it was the kind of ache that some Ibuprofen, a hot shower, and some rest would take care of. But when I woke up at 3:00am because I rolled over and hurt myself I became worried that I wasn’t going to be able to walk Bloomsday. And that sucked because I had people counting on me. The boys were looking forward to it this year. The oldest had a friend come with. And the friend’s mother was going to walk with me. And my roommate from college was going to walk with me for the first time in 20 years. I wanted to be there. So I got up at 3:00 for more anti-inflammatory, and tried to get more rest. I wasn’t better in the morning, but I hoped that I could walk the kinks out (Wishful thinking?), so we hit McD’s for McMuffins and headed to pick up our friends. We decided there would be less walking before and after the race if we took the Bloomsday shuttle bus from the mall to downtown. The idea probably did save us some walking, but they had thousands of people riding the bus, so we had to park a fair way away and walk. We still saved walking time, but it was a little disappointing. :)

I had a goal to beat my last years time. I didn’t count on having a wonky back. And I didn’t count on having a slow walking partner. We stopped and waited for her to catch up a few times. And about halfway through the race she gave us the go ahead to just go on without her. Her son stayed with mine and we picked up the pace just a little. We did stop at each mile marker and take pictures of the boys. So with a bad back, a slower partner, and stops to take photos we only came in 15 minutes behind last years time. And that feels really good to me!

I have a strategy for next year. The last two years we have started in the Lilac group. It’s the last group of walkers before the strollers and pushed wheelchairs. It’s also the biggest group. I think next year I’ll move up a group. It will be a tad less crowded and I may not have to volley to get in front of some people. Plus I’ll be in better shape. :) It helped the kids to have a friend come along, so perhaps next year we can have a couple friends.

Today, my back is still sore. And my hips are sore. And I have blisters on my feet (which came about at the very end of the race when I stepped in a deep puddle. The sprinkler on my skin was great, the wet feet weren’t. But it was all worth it! As soon as I get my back calmed down, I’ll get back to working on a regular exercise program again. Ouch.

(For those who don’t know, this was the 37^th annual Bloomsday. A 12k (7.46 miles) road race. They allow anyone to enter and everyone gets timed. There are infants in strollers, and children walking. There are wheelchair bound participants who don’t race anything else, and there are 90 year old men and women walking. As well as elite athletes who come from all over the world to compete in mens and womens divisions and the wheelchair divisions. Bloomsdayrun.org)

My name is Krista, and I'm a caffine addict.

I'm not addicted. I can stop any time I want to.

Who says that? Addicts.

I'm addicted to coffee/caffeine. I hate saying that. I'd rather say that I can stop drinking coffee any time I want to, I just chose not to. Which is what I usually do say.

Once I counted the number of coffee shops in the town I live in. Just this small town had 17 coffee shops at the time. I don't know if that is the current number, I know of a few that closed, and few others that opened. I'd bet it's pretty close. And that is just in my little town. That doesn't include any of the surrounding towns that I spend time in. I have a stack of coffee stand cards in my car that is impressive. And that is just from the last year. Last June my car was broken into and the only thing I can tell is missing is the card holder with my coffee cards and a Trader Joe's gift card that was still fully loaded. It was a neat little card carrier and I miss it.

I don't have a coffee pot at home anymore. I get up and head to work, make the coffee, and snag the first cup. Every single day I'm tempted to stop at a drive up coffee stand before I go to work for a latte on the way. And sometimes I let myself. I've been trying hard to make that a once a week experience, however. The cost adds up in a hurry. That's why 17 coffee shops can survive in a small town, after all. On the weekends I tend to hit a coffee shop or I find myself making a packet of instant fufu coffee at home.

This Sunday, I got busy around the house and worked on a project I've been excited about starting, and I *forgot* to get coffee. I forgot! Until mid afternoon when I couldn't see straight because I had a raging headache! And that is when I decided I have an addiction.

The more I think about it, the more I realize that it's not just coffee anymore. I used to avoid drinking soda (and eating potato chips too, but that's a totally different "addiction"). Now, when I get lunch or dinner out, I order a Dr. Pepper rather than an iced tea. I'm looking for the caffeine and the sugar.

In the grand scheme of things a caffeine addiction is probably a pretty minor addiction. You never hear about people hurting people or committing terrible crimes to get a cup of coffee. But in a personal scheme it kind of *is* a big deal. I'm better than an addiction, be it food, alcohol, caffeine, or something else. And caffeine can have detrimental effects on health. Including keeping me awake at night if I have some late in the afternoon, caffeine increases stress hormones. I don't know anyone who needs MORE stress. And caffeine is also a bone robber. It can block calcium from being absorbed by your body. I've added calcium supplements to my diet. Is it for naught? Have I been wasting my time with those? Probably not entirely, but certainly I'm not allowing them to be the most beneficial.

Usually, I take a break from coffee because it isn't the coffee that I like. In fact, other than the wonderful, enticing aroma, I hate coffee black. I like the sweet and creamy flavorings that go it in. so when I get gung ho about losing weight and feels super motivated, I quit drinking coffee. I don't want to waste calories that I can use on food on coffee creamer. It tends to derail in not too long. It smells so good! But I do usually lose weight right away, even if that is the only change I make in my diet.

So I'm quitting coffee and soda (again). I think it's for the right reasons this time. It isn't a quick fix to lose a few pounds. It's more along the lines of I'm getting older and can't afford brittle bones because my calcium supplements are being wasted. It's more about not increasing the amount of stress I already have every day by creating false stress in the way of sneaky hormones. It's about being a better person and not being controlled by an addiction.

I'm going cold turkey too. I think it will be a few miserable days, at least, but I don't have the self control to wean myself off. So I've stocked up on decaf green tea (good antioxidants in there and I like it). I'll still have the hand to mouth habit covered with a cup of hot tea. I'll also keep a water bottle by my desk and up the amount of water I'm drinking. And I'll keep some ibuprofen handy in case I feel a headache coming on. I will win this battle. And I'll be better for it.

Wish me luck.

Circle of Comfort

I've been waiting for Shari to post her Biggest Loser Spot here.  But she has been busy travelling and such.  This just means that we get two post in a row (I hope)

Last night I got back to Aikido.  I missed last Wednesday because an appointment came up at the last minute.  And Saturdays have been hit and miss this spring.  Between conference travel, doctors appointments, and an opportunity to see a friend I don't get to see enough (she has cancer and I'm not sure how many more opportunities like that I'll get), I have missed more Saturday classes than I've hit.   It had been 2 weeks since I'd been to Aikido and I had missed it!  And it felt weird to miss it. 

My kids are both in Aikido as well.  One is in the class age group 7-12, and the other is in the adult class.  I have only ventured into the adult class once.  It's very intimidating to be grabbed by men.  So I basically stick to the women's class.  Being in the women's class was a big step for me in the first place.  It was outside my comfort zone (I think I've said that before).  But it can't be outside my comfort zone now, if I missed going. 

Sensei asked me my goal when I started Aikido.  And all I knew was that I wanted to be there and get comfortable.  If I stayed a white belt forever I'd be happy as long as I got comfortable.  Last night I watched a man who started after I did, and is in worse shape than me, test for his gold belt.  And I was glued to my seat.  I was coaching him in my head, silently telling him to "step in", "block", "take down".  And I realized that I've got a new goal now.  I want to get the gold belt.  I know all the moves, though I think I need some more practice to be confident in front of other people.  And I'm not going to get the practice only going to Aikido one night a week.  It's time to step back out of the circle I call my comfort zone.  I vowed to join the sparring class on Tuesday night.  I'll be able to stay for the adult class on Wednesdays once in a while too.   That circle keeps getting just a little bigger. 

From My Little Sister

My sister, Anna, has made a commitment to a healthy and fit lifestyle. I asked her if I could interview her for the CanWin4Losing blog and she agreed!

Hi Sis! 

 

Krista (CW4L): First of all, thanks for volunteering to let me interview you for CanWin4Losing. You work hard and are an inspiration to me and I hope to know where your inspiration came from. What made you first decide to jump on the fitness bandwagon? 

Anna: The owner of the daycare I work for offered a free gym membership. I decided to jump at the offer. 

CW4L: Is there a person or people who inspire or motivate you? 

Anna: There are many people who motivate me. I call them fitspirations. My favorite fitspirations are Shari and my fitness coach (beachbody) Kelli. Both are working mothers who have made a huge change in their lives. Motivation works in many ways for me. I love a challenge so any time I could "win" I find motivation. Also I see many people in my life making unhealthy choices and they motivate me just as much. I don't want to live unhealthy ever again.

CW4L: Many people say that the key to their success is a support system. Do you have a support system?

Anna: My family is a great support, although sometimes they think I am a little obsessive. I have also found a lot of support on-line. I track my workouts on a social media page and have found lots of support from the users. I follow many motivational fitness pages and have even started my own page www.facebook.com/fitchallenges.

CW4L:  You look great. I know that you have physical goals to reach, but my first question regarding that is an obvious one. How much weight have you lost?

Anna: I have lost a total of 54lbs. 

CW4L: I know that one of your resolutions is to be able to do pulls ups. What other goals have you set for yourself? 

Anna: A spartan race in August. To be able to squat over my body weight and bench press my weight. 

CW4L: Are you able to do pulls ups yet? 

Anna: I can do one chin-up (sometimes), but I'm sooooo close!! 

CW4L: You have a varied workout schedule. What are some of the work outs that you do?

Anna: I love to work out in the mornings, but I work at 6am. So in order to raise my metabolism and set a little physical activity in I generally do an 7-8 minute tabata (like HIIT: high intensity interval training) session of burpees. 30 seconds of burpees and then rest for 20 seconds repeat 8 times. I work so close to home that for my lunch breaks I will walk home a do an Insanity (HIIT workout video from beachbody) workout. I also try to do at least 5 minutes of planks each day. Many days I will also go to the gym in the evening to lift weights. I randomly throw some extra cardio (running, biking, swimming, dancing, hiking, etc.) in when I'm feeling full of energy (3-4 times a week). I will try any workout once!!

CW4L: Which are your favorites?

Anna: Lifting is my favorite !! Also the one I get to do the least because I am still kind of new and prefer to have someone lifting with me or to work with a trainer. 

CW4L: We were active and fit when we were kids. And we were encouraged to try new activities. Our parents bought us tennis rackets and dad would take us to the tennis court to practice (I never got the hang of tennis, but I do wish I had tried harder to learn it). We both took dance and gymnastics for a number of years. Though neither of us participated in high school sports. There are a lot of things that I wish I had done differently in the years since we were that active and fit. Is there anything that you would do over or continue to do if you could?

Anna: I would have never quit dancing. I took ballet lessons into adulthood and even taught beginning ballet for a year. Why did I ever stop?

CW4L: Your husband is a hunter and I know that you have always preferred meat he brings home over meat bought at the store. I also know that you spend some time each week preparing for the upcoming weeks meals. Can you tell us more about your healthy eating? 

Anna: I try to eat "clean" as close to natural as possible. The more the food as been messed with the worse (stuff added or removed). Nothing fat-free!!! Fat-free equals a chemical shit storm I don't want in my body!! People are often surprised to see whole milk in our fridge.

CW4L: Has the way you eat changed after your renewed commitment to healthy lifestyle?

Anna: I have ALWAYS been weird about food. I have been eating clean for longer then I knew what clean eating means.

CW4L: How does the meal preparation affect how your family eats? 

Anna: My family eats home cooked meals most nights of the week. They still get fast food once in while or their favorites like chicken nuggets with macaroni. The nights they eat junk I eat my favorite meal, scrambled egg whites with salsa and steamed broccoli.

CW4L: How are you encouraging and helping your kids build healthy habits that will last a lifetime? 

Anna: Showing my children that I am important and take time for myself to stay healthy I hope will encourage them to make healthy choices for life.

CW4L: When I saw you last a few months ago you were excited about a new venture. Can you tell us more about Sweat Pink and what your involvement is? 

Anna: Sweat Pink is a group of fitness motivators from all over. People who are trying to encourage others to say fit and "Sweat Pink"!! 

Hangover Handicap 2013

What a way to start the new year!  I joined in on the Hangover Handicap 2013.  It's a "fun run" on the morning of January 1.  This is the second time I have done it.  The first time was in 2010. 

It started out cold.  And it didn't get much better.  It IS January after all. At least it wasn't snowing.  Although it might have been less slippery if it was snowing just a little.  A little sticky snow on top of the ice might have made footing a little easier.  Probably not for runners though.
I bundled up in a ski coat, hat, and gloves.  I saw runners there with not a lot more than what I wear in the summer.  Shorts and tank tops.  I should also note that many of the runners and other various crazy people actually go from the run to the Polar Bear Plunge.  That is where these insane folks take a dip in the cold late to ring in the new year.  The water just looks too cold for that!



Cold Lake Coeur d' Alene



21 degrees F is -6.1 degrees Celcius. Just in case you really want to know how cold it was...



I was planning to go with a friend but she couldn't make it.  So I put my headphone in and walked alone.  I caught myself trying to talk myself out of walking the entire race. I passed walkers who had turned around early and I thought it would be easy for me to do the same thing.  After all, it isn't a timed race.  Who would tell on me. And who would they tell?!  But I saw an eagle soaring ahead and decided to walk at least that far to get a good look at it.  I like to go see the eagles by the lake in the winter and hoped it could get a good picture.  I got a picture.  But it isn't a great one. 

Eagle in tree top

By the time I made it as far as the eagle I thought the halfway point was just around the bend.  So I said I'd make it as far as seeing the halfway point.  But when I saw it, I saw people doing just that.  They made it just far enough to see the cones that mark 2.5 miles and they turned around.  So feeling smug, I went ALL the way around the cones in a very dramatic fashion.  I knew there weren't many people behind me, but I didn't care now.  Because I made it halfway, I was forced to make it ALL the way.  The car was at the end of the race.  If I wanted to get in it and drive home, I had to keep walking.  :)  As I was turning the bend at the halfway point I saw a friend from my quilting group walking with her husband.  So the three of us trudged the rest of the way together!  The second half of the race went so much faster than the first half!

Halfway point!

I said before that it isn't a timed race.  The point of it is just to kick off the new year with something great and raise money for Tesh.  But I set my timer when they said "Go!".  I have a time to beat next year.  I wasn't the last one across the finish line.  It was close though! 

Time to beat!

As I type this we are  a week into 2013 and I have had sore muscles every day so far.  Some from the Race but not all.  It's a good way to start the new year.  (I reevaluated my resolution btw...  it's too lofty.  It's all about math.  I can reach that goal by the time I do the next "fun run" that I'm planning on doing. Well after my birthday.)

T-shirt for HangOver Handicap 2013

2012 in Photos

Well it's that time of year again! I know a lot of people are itching to be able to put photos of me on FB and I have been telling them they were not allowed until I have done this. Here is my year again in pictures and now they can stop bugging me lol!! Thankyou to everyone who has helped me along the way. Even the smallest word of encouragement keeps me going and I am almost there now!! xx